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In Romans 1-2 the gospel is necessary. Romans 3 the gospel is justification, declared righteous. Revelation 19 the gospel is an invitation to a celebration, and in Revelation 21 we see the Apostle John writing to a group of men, women, and children who were going through severe persecution, and the Apostle John writes, “Look at what’s coming!” ...
In Revelation 18 evil is destroyed, and in Revelation 19 Jesus returns to establish His rule for eternity. Therefore, how does the reality of this celebration change how we live our lives today?...
How could we boast in the gospel? How can we boast in ourselves today? How could we look down on those who don't have Jesus, or those who haven't read certain books, or express compassion in specific ways? It is all Jesus!...
All of humanity abandons the glory of God to pursue our own glory, and He would be just to walk away and leave us in the exhaustion of our own glory, but instead He steps into human history to call us to Himself so that we might be "declared righteous!"...
Is our sin really that big of a deal? Yes, it is much worse than we could have ever imagined....
When humanity hears about the brokenness in the world being because of our broken relationship with the God of Scripture, our only response is to either be defensive or dismissive....
The brokenness we see in the world is because of our broken relationship with the God of Scripture....
The Apostle Paul teaches us the gospel begins with power, "Jesus Christ is Lord." But, the gospel is intended to be lived out with people. ...
What does it mean to be a "bond-servant of Christ Jesus?"...
As a church family we rotate through 3 yearly focuses that lead us toward our vision as a church family: Connecting with Jesus / Connecting with the City / Connecting with One Another....
Private Property In IsraelOne of the major themes in the Bible is God’s redemption of the nation of Israel. God made a promise of land to the sons of Abraham, but generations later his descendants were enslaved in Egypt. From Exodus to Joshua, you see the activity of God to bring them out of that slavery and into a new land that He had promised them long ago. On Mount Sinai God gave Moses the laws He wanted the nation of Israel to live by. ...
Probably the biggest part of the conversation about hell and judgment is, “How can the God of Scripture be loving if there is judgment?”...
How do you decide what is true? Can we all determine our own truth? ...
Why is there so much pain and evil in the world?...
How do we examines the different messages in our world today? What about Jesus? Is Jesus just one of many ways to consider, or is Jesus God in the flesh?...
Is Jesus the only way? Is Jesus just one of many ways? Both questions are questions about beliefs, and at the core level all beliefs are exclusive, therefore, lets examine the type of fruit these beliefs produce. ...
The first thing to realize is that charging interest increases the money supply. We know the Greek’s understood this because their word for interest, tokos, means birth or offspring. They equated charging interest with multiplication like breeding animals or planting for harvest. For example, if I borrow $100 to buy something, and I have to pay back $110, that means the price for me is really $110. Over time little by little these transactions can increase the money supply....
Samson is gifted with incredible strength, but those gifts end up leading Samson toward self-sufficiency....
Even before the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, God gave them the system of laws He wanted their new nation to live by. If you read through the Mosaic Law in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy you notice that most of the laws are about how to worship Yahweh properly, how to treat each other on a personal level, and how to make restitution to victims of crime. There isn’t much law governing their economy, but the idea in the Leviticus passage below shows up several times....
The Lord still brings the promise of a deliverer even when we aren't looking for a deliverer....
In Judges 5 we see celebration of God's grace and goodness, and it is a reminder that we must celebrate God's grace and goodness in our lives today. ...
In Judges 3 we see the Lord raising up King Eglon against Israel, so that Israel lives under oppression for 18-years. How do we reconcile God's love for His people when we see Him strengthening enemy kings to bring oppression?...
Any human idea or system is not going to be perfect. There will always be opportunities for misuse. Some argue that it is inherent to capitalism for powerful people to exploit others. Others believe exploitation can only be accomplished by moving away from capitalism toward a more centrally controlled economy. I don’t have the ability to identify which is which. What I want to do in this article is to think through what should happen to the common person when a free market economy is left to itself. Does any of this relate to the Bible and Christianity? Yes! When you read through the Bible, it looks like the backdrop is a world where there is a free market, private property, and people making choices to materially better their lives. ...
How does the Lord respond when we turn to sin over and over and over?...
Whether it’s where we should be in our career or our marital status, or how much money we should be making, or how many close friends we should have, most of the world around us and the inner dialogue of our flesh is screaming “You’re not enough!” Or, another way I’ve heard this message is, “You’re doing it wrong!”There is a cosmic gap between who we are today and who we were created to be. There is a chasm between where we are today and where we should be. And this is actually good news. It is because of Christ, and his work in his life, death, resurrection, we are more than enough....
The wars in Joshua and Judges are difficult to understand? How do we respond to those questions today?...
Is the Bible truth? What about (fill in the blank)? Why would God allow that? It's hypocritical! But, we have science! The bible is old! Don't we know better? It is important that the Bible be the basis for our beliefs for several reasons. If we fail to accept the authority of Scripture then we find another source as the authority for our lives. And, those sources ultimately fail us! When we trust & obey Scripture, we trust and obey God Himself. The more you read, the more you grow closer to God, and the objections you may have to trust the Bible grow smaller. Over time they may even just go away....
When Jesus conquers death in the resurrection He is introducing a completely new relationship to all of humanity. ...
What does Paul mean by stating “In the last days difficult times will come?” These difficult times have been here for quite a while even though it’s hard to pinpoint the start date. Regardless, we all eat, breathe, work jobs, and raise families in the last days. As we live in the last days, during difficult times we can have hope in our powerful God....
What do we do when we believe in Jesus, but we still see so many layers of guilt and shame in our lives?...
Do you feel restless? You’re running a fast pace in most areas of your life and then when you get out of that environment or something changes, you’re now freed up from certain commitments and you’re not sure what to do. The Lord graciously showed me how restless my soul is. I was physically restless because I was spiritually restless. ...
Don’t you wonder what those new glorified bodies will look like? Just imagine our bodies completely free from sin. Imagine our brains having thoughts that are free from worry, anxiety, fear, shame and condemnation. Imagine our relationships without insecurity, doubt, jealousy, and gossip. Imagine our bodies without aches or pains. ...
Have you ever wondered what you should be including in your prayers? Maybe you tend to pray just moment by moment or maybe you make intentional effort to spend some "time" in prayer daily. No matter where you are at on the spectrum, let's take a look at what we're to be praying for and use the Lord's Prayer as a guide....
What does the Apostle Paul mean by the religious ceremony, "baptized for the dead?" Is that something we should be doing today?...
Abortion. It is a subject that can produce a wide range of emotions. The purpose of addressing this topic is to give each side of the debate a glimpse into what the other side is thinking, not to start a debate or stir up anger. Moreover, we want to be clear that what follows is in no way intended to produce guilt or shame. The purpose of this blog is not judgment. ...
It would be easy to look at the good news of Jesus, and simply think, "Good that I know Jesus. I will just study the Bible until Jesus returns, and pray nothing horrible happens until then. But, in 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul points us to the living hope we have in Jesus. ...
What do you think about your body? What happens to your body when you die? Is your physical body important to the God of Scripture? In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 we see the Apostle Paul walk us through the importance of our physical bodies. ...
Can you imagine a time when you were completely satisfied and at peace? There is no trying to squeeze purpose out of your career, or what others think about you. No confusion about who you are, and what defines you. In the midst of all brokenness, both internally and in the world around us, God sends promise after promise that things won’t always be as they look....
Perhaps you have always thought the resurrection of Jesus is unbelievable, but it is just one of those things you have to take as blind faith. But, 1 Corinthians 15 is written out by the Apostle Paul as eyewitness evidence. ...
Do you believe there is life in Jesus? Do you believe the greatest pleasure we find in life is in Jesus? The Apostle Paul did, and in verses 1 and 2 he begins to describe how that is possible. ...
Don't see Sunday mornings as a day you need a "break" from morning prayer just because you are going to church. Make Sunday mornings part of your daily prayer life and use that time to pray for your own heart, your time at home, the church body, and your pastor. Each moment we aren't in scripture and prayer are moments we lose to the desires of the flesh....
While God’s fingerprints are all over creation, revealing to us some of His character, they were not created to bear His likeness as you and I are. Take a moment and look at your skin. Take a moment and think about the color of your eyes, the texture of your hair, the size of your feet, or the shape of your nose.Think about the parts of you that you love, whether internally or externally. Now think about the internal and external parts of you that you don’t love, or wish were different. All of it is beautiful in God’s eyes. ...
Why do we spend so much time working IN our life, and completely overlook the importance of ON our life? Celebration is a huge part of our life, and we want to look for every opportunity to celebrate God's good work in our lives. ...
If you don’t get to exercise freedom in your own specific life, is it really worth anything? God deals with mainly individuals and not groups.The idea of personal forgiveness before God or personal judgment seen throughout the Bible is the philosophical basis for what we call individualism. If God deals with individuals, then we should deal with other people as individuals. Each person has equal value and is unified in their humanity alone. American values we have today go back to the gospel. We know not to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, education level, religious practice, and political affiliation. ...
suppose a family member invites you to a birthday party? You get the e-vite in the inbox, and then you have to decide, “Will I attend?” How do you decide? Is it because you don’t have anything else on the calendar? Do you go out of obligation? What if you hurt their feelings? Do you blame it on work? How many times do you find yourself driving across Texas to attend a family event, and you’re not even really sure why you are going! This is why it is important to submit our relational calendar to Jesus every year and ask Him, "How does He want us to steward our relationships this year?"...
What would it look like to submit the whole of your income to Jesus and ask Him, "What does He want?" On January 20th our church family hosts an event called Yearly Planning Event, and our hope is that this time on a Saturday will be a strategic move for you to submit the whole of your life to Jesus. ...
“Time with Jesus” includes a time of prayer (either speaking or journaling confession, repentance and surrendering my heart and plans to God's sovereign will, etc.) and reading scripture. Any given day there's typically a lot on my heart, whether it be personal things or marriage or children or friends or work, the list goes on and on ... and surrendering it all before the God of Scripture is vitally important....
Prayer is one way of communicating with God. We see it modeled throughout all of scripture. I often reference the book of Psalms to find comfort by reading prayers written by others. Even Jesus modeled prayer for us; as you read the gospels, there are many instances where Jesus is talking with the Father....
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about what defines you? Is it your career? The number of projects you’re able to see through. The deadlines you can meet. How well you get along with co-workers and your boss. Is it who you know and who knows you? The circle of friends that you have. The number of followers you have on Insta......
Now, the metaphor of a woman being able to give birth to children is a powerful metaphor today, but in Isaiah’s day it would have been an even stronger description, because there was incredible pressure on women in the ancient culture to give birth to as many children as possible....
Follow your passion! It is a common message you hear in the 21st century USA. Get excited and run after your dreams! It is exciting even to type that out. Find the thing you are good at today, the thing you really enjoy doing and make your life about that. I could never tell someone not to do that, but what if the thing I enjoy isn’t the thing I am good at? What if the thing I am good at, can’t provide clothes for my back, a roof over my head, or food on the table? A table! I have to get a table too?!...
In Isaiah 41 the chapter ends with the God of Scripture describing the weak idols of their day like sex, power, comfort, and says, “Their worthless and empty” and in chapter 42, verse 1 we see the contrast of those weak, worthless idols with the word, “Behold.”...
In Isaiah 9 we see a people who are living in a dark and gloomy land, but there is a promise of a glorious light promised in a future person who will bring joy to the world. ...
In Malachi 4, verse 2 we see the word, “but,” because in verse 1 the Lord says, "Behold a day of judgment is coming" but "for those who fear His name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healings in its wings."...
In the book of Malachi we see the people in Malachi going through difficult seasons. They are being ruled by a foreign government. They are rebuilding their homes. They are restarting their economy. They are going through decades of difficulty....
The people in Malachi were blessed by God to enjoy His blessing and in addition bless other people. ...
We are studying through Malachi on Sunday morning at North Village Church, and the people in Malachi have found themselves in a place of less confidence in God’s promises....
Immigration is a popular topic in our culture today. There are two topics that need to be held in tension when you hear people talk about immigration, love and law....
In our culture today there is a hash tag going around called #metoo. The hash tag is an attempt from our culture to bring awareness to the injustice committed against women today....
Malachi 1:6, “6 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?” ...
While God’s fingerprints are all over creation, revealing to us some of His character, they were not created to bear His likeness as you and I are. Take a moment and look at your skin. Take a moment and think about the color of your eyes, the texture of your hair, the size of your feet, or the shape of your nose.Think about the parts of you that you love, whether interna...
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